Rules for CTPA Members

Membership Cards

All CTPA members must have a valid CTPA membership card. Display cards (photo side out). As membership grows, we must be sure all people playing at CTPA times are members. If someone is not a member, please politely ask them to leave or report them to Parks & Recreation or a CTPA volunteer who may be at the courts.

Membership cards must be displayed on the fence post dividing the two courts. All four cards must be displayed separately on the four hooks associated with the court for all play formats.

You will queue to play next with your membership cards during CTPA times on the designated queueing racks for Your Four Play.

Membership cards cannot be loaned to non-CTPA or CTPA players who forget their card.

If this occurs, the member of the loaned card, and the person using it will forfeit membership for 6 months without a refund; and they cannot play during CTPA hours for 6 months.

If a foursome in YFP, plays with a member who is not using their own membership card, all four members will forfeit their membership for 6 months.

Members or guests using fake or expired guest passes will be subjected to the same penalty.

There is a $20 fee to replace a membership card. If you find a card, please notify the member directly, drop it in the locked mailbox (installed by May 1) or take the card to the Cranberry Township Parks & Recreation Customer Service desk in the Municipal Center.

All members are expected to bring their own outdoor pickleball for Level & Your Four Play. The type of ball to be used for Level Play may be determined by the group as a whole, to have consistent play between members of that rated group. Pickleballs will be supplied for League Play.

Level Play

(Rated group play)

Level Play by each rating groups have priority. Only the coordinator(s) of the groups will have the authority to schedule times suitable for their members. Level play can be whatever format that each group decides, ladders, four/on-four off, winner stays on & split, practice, drilling etc., and can vary from one session to the other based on membership desires.

Level Play has to be all-inclusive and available to every member of that rating.

Schedules should be consistent from week to week so members will be able to schedule and plan according.

Plan for the number of courts efficiently and the anticipated members who may attend. If you find you have an extra court at the start of you play make the extra court available for “Your Four” players who will be playing during your session. If you consistently have extra courts available please reduce the requested court number.

You cannot invite a player of a lower rating to join your level play. You may invite a player with a higher rating.

Please start and end at the proper times.

You must display your membership cards on the court on the membership card display racks on the separation fence post between courts. If you do not have your membership card you cannot play.

Level Play is part of your membership cost and no addition fee is required.

Leagues

Leagues include Ladders, Fixed Doubles, Singles, and any other scheduled event that reserves court time for specific play at a fee.

Usually associated to three seasons. Spring (May-June; Summer (July-August); and Fall (September/October).

There will be a small charge available to play in a league and balls will be provided.

You must display your membership cards on the court, on the membership card display racks, on separation fence post between courts. If you do not have your membership card you cannot play.

Specific league details will be explained separately.

Your Four Play (YFP)

Your Four Play (YFP) is part of your membership and there is no fee to pay. No balls will be provided.

You must display your membership cards on the court on the membership card display racks on the separation fence post between courts. If you do not have your membership card you cannot play.

All times where there is no level or league play scheduled will be YFP on all the courts. Keep an eye on the schedule because there still maybe courts available for YF play even during scheduled Level Play and Leagues.

If your courts are going to be used for Level Play or Leagues, you must give up your court 5 minutes before the start of level play & leagues, EVEN if your game is not finished. If other courts are still available for YFP, you can queue your cards to play on those available courts. League and Level play has priority of the courts.

YFP will allow you and any three CTPA members to play together without rotating in new players. The four of you can continue to play together as long as you want until another foursomes are queueing in which case, when your game ends to 11, you need to come off the courts and call in the next foursome, and all four of you need to combine your FOUR CTPA membership cards and queue on the designated queueing rank to play again.

If you have a 5th or 6th or 7th person as part of your group where you want to change players for the next game, and other foursome are queueing, you must come off the court and set the next four cards who are playing together on the next available empty space on the queueing racks. The 5th, and/or 6th and/or 7th person in your group cannot save a queueing spot in the rack while you are playing. You must have all four person available and not playing to queue and all four membership cards hanging on the queueing rack to play.

If you are a group of 8 or 12 players, you can intermix players between your groups on the queueing racks. If Player A,B,C & D had their cards in the queue and players E,F,G,H were coming off the court, for example, Players E & F, could take the place on the queueing racks of players C & D of the first group and then Players C, D, G & H would queue their cards at the end of the queue. You could not exchange all four players. Again, if players E,F,G,H were coming off the courts and player A,B,C,D decided not to play anymore and their cards were in the queueing racks, they could not give their space up to Players EFGH.

If people are queueing, the foursome will come off the court after they finished their game to 11, win by two.The court is used for playing only, not to practice when people are queueing except to initially warm up for a couple minutes.

Singles can be played up to 8:30 AM on the weekday during YFP and if there are people waiting, the two singles players can queue their cards together just like a foursome until 8:15 AM. If courts are available after 8:30 and no group is queueing to use the courts, then you can continue to play singles until the first group of four is queueing for the next game.

You can finish your game if your time extends into public play times but if people are queueing you must give up your court once you finish. You can continue to play but it must be under the public play rules. As soon as public time start, you can no longer use the queueing racks, but you will queue with your paddles. Do not forget to pick up your membership cards.

Sportsmanship & Etiquette

As a CTPA member you are helping to expand pickleball in our area as your membership fee will help pay off the court debt and allow us to expand to additional courts in the future. Please respect each member knowing our objective are the same. Please report a person who does not behave in the manner appropriate of a CTPA member to Cranberry Parks & Recreation or a CTPA committee member or level coordinator.

Please keep the area around the courts and SportCourts area litter free. Deposit your trash appropriately or take home with you.

Do not put bags and coats on the benches but rather lean them next or hang them on the fence.

Folding chairs cannot be placed on the court surface. Chairs must be placed on the concrete or grass outside the court fence. Please make sure chairs do not block the passage of people between courts.

Alcohol is not permitted at the courts or in the park.

Smoking is not permitted on or around the courts.

Guest Passes

Guest passes will be sold at the Parks & Recreation Customer Service desk in the Municipal Center. Guest passes will display the member name and expiration date. A Guest Pass is $5 per day and the guest may play only on Your Four courts and cannot play in Level Play (unless rating committee gives approval and they notify the level coordinator.) nor league play. A guest pass is valid for one day - the date that Park and Recreation writes on the card. The guest must display their guest pass just like a CTPA membership card. A guest pass can be purchased up to one week in advance. Guest passes are non-refundable.

Safety

We recommend that you do not play on the courts when they are wet. We also recommend proper eye protection, stretching prior to your game and the wearing of proper clothing and shoes for pickleball. CTPA, nor Cranberry Township, assume any liability for injury or damages as a result of pickleball play.